Tuesday, September 2, 2008

I got one tray of these guys baked off before rushing out to the third BBQ/event this weekend.

I only made two changes (for the full recipe, go visit Stefany). I went with extra large eggs instead of large. I've found that the extra liquid helps keep cookies from being too dry at altitude. The other change from the recipe was to use a baking stone and bake the cookies for the full 15 minutes. I didn't rotate pans partway through since I only had time for one (no-fuss) pan.

The cookies went together in a snap. They chilled for a half hour before baking so the dough was too warm to do anything but drop. About the only problem was my KitchenAid Mixer seems close to giving up the ghost. The hubs did some quick emergency repairs, but we'll have to see if it'll last through another round of, well anything.

As for the taste, I'm on the fence. I liked these better than the Granola Grabbers from a few weeks ago, no question about that. They just seem like they're missing something. Maybe more peanut butter... Maybe sub dried fruit for some or all of the chocolate... That's probably what's throwing me off. I could handle peanut butter in my oatmeal cookies (the nutmeg was awesome - I'll have to add some to my regular oatmeal cookie recipe) or peanut butter in my chocolate chip cookies (mmm, peanut butter and chocolate), but the the oatmeal and chocolate chip is just weird. Now, some raisins or oooooh, some white chocolate chips with craisins. Mmmmm.....

Anyway, don't forget to go see how the other TWDers liked this week's recipe! And thanks for another great pick, Stefany!

Edited to add: Okay, so letting the dough chill for the 24 hours is the key. I baked off the rest, and it's a pretty good cookie after chilling. The spices mellowed and the peanut butter becomes just a hint. I still would change out the chocolate for fruit (or white chocolate with the fruit, oooh, or peanut butter chips!) but the dough makes a very pretty cookie. The edges are crisp and the middle is chewy.

OH NO! A dying mixer! Your cookies look good, though, and I agree with you that there are a bit too many things going on in this cookie. I like them, but will probably leave out the chocolate next time.

I used the nutmeg, but left the cinnamon out of mine. I think that made my cookies have a little less of an identity crisis. =) I don't envy you having to cook at higher altitude--I did that for less than a year when I lived in Boulder, and it was a pain. Great job on the cookies!